Redmond, 46, of the Woodlawn neighborhood, has made a name for herself converting vacant lots in West Side communities far from grocery stores into urban farm sites that offer fresh fruits and vegetables. "I don't think of race now in Chicago the way I look back on the 1950s or 1960s here. But there is an invisible veil that covers everything. You don't realize you're peeking though the veil until things start to look blurry and then suddenly you can't breathe. "I told some friends that I was going to start looking for an apartment up north in an area around Peterson and Western avenues and people were like, 'You can't go over there.' I'm like, 'Really?' It was black people saying that. "So, I went and looked at a couple of apartments and the renters saw me and let me see the units because they know it's illegal not to, but it was clear that they weren't OK with me being there. You could see their stunned looks when I pulled up. And they were a little cool toward me. It was somewhat subtle. You'd have to have felt it before to know it again. "

Redmond, 46, of the Woodlawn neighborhood, has made a name for herself converting vacant lots in West Side communities far from grocery stores into urban farm sites that offer fresh fruits and vegetables. "I don't think of race now in Chicago the way I look back on the 1950s or 1960s here. But there is an invisible veil that covers everything. You don't realize you're peeking though the veil until things start to look blurry and then suddenly you can't breathe. "I told some friends that I was going to start looking for an apartment up north in an area around Peterson and Western avenues and people were like, 'You can't go over there.' I'm like, 'Really?' It was black people saying that. "So, I went and looked at a couple of apartments and the renters saw me and let me see the units because they know it's illegal not to, but it was clear that they weren't OK with me being there. You could see their stunned looks when I pulled up. And they were a little cool toward me. It was somewhat subtle. You'd have to have felt it before to know it again. " (Tribune photo by Zbigniew Bzdak)